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The Six Thousand Mile Gap
The intermittent saga of the Birmingham City takeover seems to have gone into another hiatus with absolutely nothing coming from either Paladini or Pannu in the past seven days. With less than six weeks now to go until January the likelihood of a deal being completed before the transfer window is slowly evaporating and the patience of Blues fans is being tested.
I’m hesitant to write about this at the moment – whilst nothing has happened in the past week there have been more twists in this saga than in a Chubby Checker concert and I wouldn’t be surprised if Thursday turns out to be a day when all hell breaks loose again. However whilst I can’t offer much if anything in the way of new information I still think there is a need to discuss what is happening; the mood is ugly and the whispers of protest against the board are raising their ugly head again.
The truth of the matter is at this moment in time Peter Pannu holds all the aces. The club is his (by proxy anyway) to sell and it would appear he has no rush to do so. It might be that Blues are slowly circling the drain in terms of finances and that the spectre of further player sales is becoming more of a reality but I honestly don’t believe that matters to Pannu or Carson – the club will be sold when it suits them to do so and in a manner that profits them best.
I think the geography of the situation doesn’t help either. Because we’re all over here and they’re all over there, people are reduced to electronic means of communication to try to wring some facts out of this sorry mess and I don’t believe that is conducive to painting a clearer picture. It’s easy to ignore a text message, a phone call or an email and I think that plays into Pannu’s hands as he can answer things at his leisure and on his own terms. I’ve seen people say that there needs to be some tough questions asked of the parent company but it’s my belief that if they are asked by these methods they will just be ignored. Similarly, I think Mr Paladini is going to struggle to come to some sort of agreement by following the same methodology.
It’s my belief that if Paladini and his backers really want to buy the club then it might behoove Gianni to get on a plane to Hong Kong, seek out Pannu face to face and thrash out a deal there. Similarly, I think the only way the media will get any answers is if someone doorsteps Pannu and/or Carson, shoves a dictaphone in their face and starts demanding answers from them. The big problem is that no one in the upper echelons of the media cares enough to stump up the airfare for a reporter to the fragrant harbours of Hong Kong due to “budgeting reasons” and thus we’re left to feed off the scraps that BIH and Pannu deign to feed us via infrequent statements.
The six thousand miles that divide the club from its parent company allow the directors of BIH a lot of leeway – I doubt they’ve seen the anger here and because it’s all online and far away it’s nothing to worry about. Whilst I wouldn’t commit to saying that I want Paladini in as a new chairman as I’m still unsure about him I am sure that a takeover needs to happen at Blues sooner rather than later. If we as fans are to do anything to force the hand of Pannu then we need to find a way to bridge that six thousand mile gap – and I will be honest, I’m not sure how that can be done.
Tags: Carson Yeung, Gianni Paladini, Peter Pannu, Takeover
60 Responses to “The Six Thousand Mile Gap”
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sell butland sell redmond and then sell club hope im wrong
i have a lit of respect for Peter Pannu but why would he really want the club to be sold ?
At the moment he is like the Syrian Prime Minister, holding on to power, knowing that when the new regime takes over, he could face Execution, or the equivilent there of.
Once a new buyer comes in then their own team will take over. They will lay bare all the failings of the old regime and that as most badly run business’ is what they fear most.
We are based in Englands second largest city, there is a decent stadium and potentially a great fan base if there was a fairly succesful team to support.
We should be an attractive proposition for lots of investors so why are we not attracting them. The answer possibly lies with the current owners and their possible desire not to see the club in new hands anytime soon until the fatted calf gets even fatter.
This is just a hunch of mine but i suspect the arrow has landed not too far from the bulles eye
Depressingly true..
The inext 10 weeks will define BCFC for the forseeable future, all we can do is fear the worst & hope for the best…KRO
Why don’t the Mail send Tatt’s? (-;
Quite simply: Cost.
Sorry Al, don’t buy that one. I’ve done that trip frequently and it’s only around £1500 return on premium economy (so Tatt’s can stretch his legs out!). Ok so they’d also have to pay for a hotel and interpreter but come on! You telling me that the Mail can’t afford that for a story that most of it’s readers are interested in?
Cost !!
So who payed for the vile reporter on there USA tour,playing “friendly’s” ??
Did he sleep on the streets & use a internet cafe to send his reports.
At least when the cockney lot were around,you could speak to the bitch brady face to face,this asian lot have took the piss from day one,even when c`y,first turned up,we had the fall out with the cockney mob & the asian hairdresser.
There has been serious bullshit been thrown around since the takeover & the local rag (E`Mail) have just let the turds float.
Why did BIRMINGHAM CITY cost £80 million to buy ??
From the rent collecting Coomes family,market stall holders Kumars,Welsh/Cockney bullshiting mob,Asian hairdresser & who’s lined up now to take over the mafia.
There has to be a joke there !!
“Bitch” Brady?
Not necessary, IMO.
Totally agree no need for that language, karren brady put the club on a sound financial footing even if she did pay herself a bonus.
If it were Villa the B.Mail would soon stump up the dosh.
Supposedly buyers have signed NDAs. If that is the case, would you really want Paladini buying the club?
Its about time we as fans really started to voice our opinions, I know it won’t suit everyone but we should boycott home games until this mess is sorted, if no revenue coming through the door it may force Pannus hand, its just so depressing.
No chance
Chris, with the greatest of respect that will only make matters worse and hasten the administration. Better idea would be for the supporters trust to raise the profile to the HK media (as the Mail can’t be bothered), they don’t like it up ’em as Jonsey would say.
We need to support the team now more than ever
PP could include the sale of key players in the deal or a least their value so I don’t think this is the reason for the delay.
I think it’s more about screwing Paladini for more money.
I think Paladini did the right thing the other week when he said they were pulling the plug on buying the club, because if they did then who else is putting in a bid? We cant talk about what we dont know about but if the Paladini bid is withdrawn then it would be interesting to see if Pannu comes back cap in hand.
Dont underestimate Pannu. I would not be surprised if he is talking to another party- Dont want paladini anyway, he does not conduct business correctly, even though he is just a front man, for people that want a football club as a business…..never works
Past caring now re: ownership. To me it appears they dont want to sell unless they get the magical figure. Besides – the case for the defence of CY is more important than selling a football club at the moment I would have thought!?
It’s looking like the status quo will continue for some time yet and we will get by somehow.
We cant do anything but like it or lump it really?
Ever considered CY may be aquitted and his assets unfrozen? We may have CY next year as an asset unfrozen owner?
If I’d have won the Euromillions over the weekend, I’d have flown us both off to Hong Kong to do exactly that, Almajir. We need answers, and we’re not going to get them over here!
dont forget they are bound by the rules of the HKSE! would be interesting though if carson is proven innocent!!
I think Paladini has a choice.
40 million for Blues now or 30 million in the New Year minus Butland and Redmond.
Either way CY and PP will get what they want for the club.
The apparent lack of motivation to sell Blues leads me to believe there is a belief in the CY camp that he could get off and not face a prison sentence.
What is absolutely paramount this season is we are not relegated.
That would be an absolute disaster from which it could take years to recover.
KRO
I agree with that. We should have enough to stop up but you never know with the clown in charge. Playoffs – you’re having a Giraffe tho
January: Sell Butland and Redmond
February 1: sell the club
How much do you think BIHL would get for Butland & Redmond in January ?
Can’t we have a wip round at the next home game to stump up the airfair to send someone over to dorrstep Pannu?
I know my comment is not the way forward, but I am desperate to recapture footbal and the crowds back to Blues, we as fans are just being taken for a ride by a bunch of no hopers who are intent on getting as much out of us as is possible until there is nowhere else to go, then throw the towel in leaving us to our own devices and i’m fed up with it. Being a Blues fan you have to be an optimist but my optimism is waneing. I was looking at the pictures in the Mail the other night of the heady days at St Andrews when the ground was full to bursting and we entertained the top sides. Oh what a dream, I just hope this is not the end of us.
Al — this might sounds a bit old-fashioned, but why don’t you write a carefully worded letter to the editor of the leading HK paper. Or better still, ring them up and demand to write an editorial/opinion piece for them. Or contact their sports desk and get their local bod on the case. Or send a press release to the main HK papers saying you speak on behalf of x thousand OP followers.
I am in contact with some HK newspapers but it’s getting them to publish something. Harder than it appears unfortunately.
Sadly DocD, even though your sugggestion is a sound one, I suspect even if Al did write or call up, the HK newspaper editorial staff concerned will still make a judgement as to the newsworthyness of the story and its impact in the Far East and tough though this sounds it will amount to the cube root of diddly squat however important it is to us. I agree with the notion that it is up to Paladini and/or his backers to get over there for face to face meetings if they are serious about a deal. In the final analysis, all the players are businessmen and their job is making money. They don’t give one jot whether our best players are cashed in or not if it yields them the greatest short term gain. That is the hard reality of the world we live in sadly. We need to survive this year and hopefully start the rebuilding process next season.
Do you think pannu will ever set foot in st Andrews again??plus where does he live when over here???am I right in thinking it’s Solihull somewhere?
Mickey
1) Who knows?
2) It’s not Solihull, no.
Even if CY is acquited – as hard as it may seem at present, he was already experiencing problems bankrolling Blues before his arrest and criminal charges. Either they have an alternative buyer lined up who is extremely publicity shy and secretive or they harbour some hopes that they will soon get a bid approaching what they believe the club is worth. Surely even in the action-packed world of CY, the fella realises that this present scenario cannot exist for much longer??
I wouldn’t worry too much about the transfer window and a deal being completed beforehand; prospective new owners can bankroll signings before assuming full control. Of course this is dependent on someone actually buying us.
All goodwill and support seems to have ebbed away for PP and CY, and it could be said that all of it is not the fault of the fans. But we can be a fickle lot and if either said that they had secured funds for the club in January for some decent signings and things were “back on track financially” would we quickly forgive past misdemeanors in the hope of a better future??
Pannu knows alot more about the owners then we think.. Also if he wanted to sell butland why didn’t he accept Southamptons offer in the summer?
Because at the time he didn’t need too mate??now is a different ball game though where circumstances are very different to what they were 4 mths ago…..just got a feeling this is going to get worse before it gets better.
Why doesn’t someone who wants to go over, set up a fundraising site where we can donate. I would gladly put to the pot because it would benefit all of us having a man on the ground, finding out exactly what’s going on. We need answers from over there and it doesn’t look like any of the local newspapers see it as important enough to send a reporter out. In my opinion this is the only way forward now.
Only other option is Friday 30th, home game against Middlesbrough on sky. Voice your opinions as loud as you can. I know some fans don’t agree with protests- me included, but do we have any other options now?
Time appears to be running out fast and the the damage could get far worse.
Louise for the right fee I’m quite happy to be your man on the ground x
Lmao x
I cannot believe the Birmingham Mail is not chasing this up -I suspect they are but just getting a stoney silence.
PP is under no pressure to sell up and unfortunately the Blue supporters apart from boycotting the games have very little leverage or clout.The media can help and people like Tom Ross,Tatt’s and Radio WM should do everything in their power to find out what’s going on.I’m sure they are.
And how about TF/JC and The Birmingham City Council-maybe theyshould take a more active interest in what’s going on.In the meantime it’s “squeaky bum time” and PP is holding most of the cards.
The mail is a filth rag, always has been.
If this involved the filth you can be certain someone would be over there.
Anyone thinking it would be possible to turn up in Hong Kong and start doorstepping people demanding answers (Hong Kong nationals at that), is living in cloud cuckoo land.
You’d have more chance of being arrested than getting into a dialogue with someone who’d be able to give you some sort of a relevant answer.
Maybe I’ve missed it, but what happened to this seasons parachute payments – have they happened & what were they worth? Have they also been spirited out to HK?
We will be in the top 10 at Christmas pannu will stay an inject money into the club calm down!
Pannu is trying to get the best deal he can for Yeung,,,,,,,this means getting as much as he can legally from the club before selling up,,,,,,,Pannu and Yeung are not interested in what any fan thinks of them,,,,all they are interested in is the almighty dollar Hong Kong or U.S !, my honest opinion is that January will see the sale of Butland, Redmonf,Burke,Davies and any other players who can command a fee,,,,,,this money will be used not to benefit Blues,,, but to repay loans that Yeung has made to the club so he does not lose out in that area,,,,,,having done this [and ensuring we go into administration by these actions] they will then sell the club and again will take another cut of whatever is on the table, thus ensuring Yeung does not lose out on HIS investments,,,,,Pannu and Yeung dont give a damn for any others,,,,fans or the small investors who trusted them,,,,,,,I,m all right Jack screw you is their credo,,,we couldnt give a hoot about you,,as long as I / we minimise the loss to ourselves
Dan, I don’t know if you recall but I advocated a little cyber activism when the Yeung thing blew up earlier this year. To bridge the gap you talk about all Blues fans should mail the editors of the various HK dailys so they know there is a strength of feeling on the subject. That way they’ll take an interest in the case and start covering it. Going over is no use unless you understand the lingo and we all know you can’t rely on the Meaning Vile,
I think the most likely state of affairs currently is thus
– Paladini can’t quite raise the asking price (which in the long run is probably just as well) hence nothing happening with deal depite all of last weeks shenanagins. He will slowly disappear from the scene.
– Pannu’s remains in no rush to sell the club and therefore will continue to play hard ball (which as we all know he’s pretty adept at), This is for a variety of reasons
Firstly, he knows that in the short term he can sell players to pay the bills. As this blog rightly points out, the distance makes this a far easier decision for him
Secondly he knows that we live in a changing world and other buyers will emerge and/or interest of the previously interested parties could be rekindled
Thirdly, and we’re all overlooking this, there remains a possibility that Carson gets off, gets his piggy bank back and goes back to bankrolling us. I’ve no way of knowing how likely this is, but it will be a consideration in terms of the price they want. i.e. the more likely CY is to get off, the less desperate they are to sell and the higher the price they want. PP’s a barrister so he’s well placed to judge.
Personally, I’d not be massively averse to a season or 2 of mediocraty in return for Carson getting his wallett out again in 2014. But then I am a masochist……..
carson got his wallet out for us. you lot should remember that
yes mate he got his wallet out at the time,,,,theres no disputing that,,,,,,,but what was the rate of interest and what will it be if and when comes the time to settle up ?
Easy to get you wallet out when ur spending money u got on the dodgy isn’t it
The Mail should send Tatt’s !
I have just got back from a week there ,cost £2000 -£2500 max including a nice hotel oposite the Jockey club
Does anyone know the contact details for the sports editor at the BM?
Maybe if we bombarded him with emails, we may get some responses.
Almajir, what happened after the “week of action” organised by the Trust? Was the result the statement by Pannu, or was there more?
Just thinking the Trust could get something going again.
FACT CY got his money into the club like NONE of the other owners.
FICTION it wasnt CYs money, we do not know yet.
FACT CY did not want this hassle!
Simple. innocent until proven guilty
I do think about what would happen if he gets a not guilty verdict. Will he return or continue to sell up? He has been the most successful chairman here, spending the most money. It was such a shame we got relegated that season, If we didn’t things would have been so different now. BUT we did and I can’t see fans wanting him back. Too much has happened to forgive and forget.
I honestly can’t see a way out for the man and admittedly, I do feel sorry for him. After all he was only guilty of nieaveity!
if he is found not guilty, he has done nothing wrong at all. He has only done good for Blues, the only naivety will be that of non understanding of business, noses.
I’ll buy the blues i’ve got my bus fair and some pork scratchings
The editor and sports editor of the mail are vilers, (if you hadn’t already guessed!) Their interest in us iis minimal. If by some miracle a reporter got over there and fluked a face to face with PP or CY I guarantee they would be met with silence. Forget that option, we are just going to have to hang tight and hope for the best I’m afraid.
If CY gets off what will his attitude be to the Blues fans who have given him dogs abuse over the last few months?
Unlike all the other owners (parasites) we have had he did spend money.
Do people really think he manufactured this situation he’s in just for the fun of winding up the St Andrews faithful?
And what does he get in return for his admittedly misguided efforts? Obscene chants, vilification and hatred.
Would you really want David “We’ll buy 3 top players on top wages” Sullivan back telling his tall stories every time he’s trying to sell season tickets?
I doubt that sending any journo over to HK will achieve anything. The circles that PP moves in are no doubt behnd a lot of closed doors and come with invitation only, and lets not forget the Cantonese that will be spoken to anyone English.
They are over there, we are over here, and if they want us to know something ,,they will pick up the phone when they want.
BCFC is simply an asset right now, and not an investment. But in the right hands, it could be..
Guys you can forget CY resuming his bankrolling of the club if he gets a ‘not guilty’ verdict. He appointed PP to the board of BIHL with the task of selling the club for a reason. If that decision was based on him thinking he would be put away, then you can be sure he’d have told PP to ensure the club was sold before his trial. Otherwise he would have just waited for the outcome of his trial and then decided whether or not to sell up, the fact the ball was set rolling beforehand shows that the trial is not a relevant factor.